116 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTXIRAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Kinney remarked that if any cooked Boletus eduUs, B. 

 hovinus, etc., either broiled or stewed, be left over, they can, after 

 they become cold, be chopped fine, and be added to an omelet ; or, 

 if simply mixed with beaten eggs and cooked, they will make most 

 delicious dishes. An Italian cook once brought to him a dish of 

 square-flat macaroni, stuffed with mushrooms, cheese, and various 

 sweet herbs. He found it to be a most excellent combination. If 

 mushrooms are carefully cleaned, peeled, sliced vertically, dried 

 properly, and stored in a dry cool place, they may be taken out 

 later, at any time, soaked until swollen to the natural size, and then 

 cooked the same as if freshly gathered, when they will be found 

 nearly as delicious as are those just from the beds. Mr. Kinney 

 then referred to the question as to the best treatise to assist a 

 novice in identifying wholesome mushrooms, and mentioned Julius 

 A. Palmer, Jr.'s book, "About Mushrooms," published by Lee & 

 Shepaixl, as one of the best guides. He said that early in his 

 experience in mushroom hunting he took some fine specimens to 

 Mr. Palmer for identification. Mr. Palmer at once said they were 

 Boletus hoviims ; a perfectly wholesome variety. The speaker once 

 heard this direction given, " If you find a mushroom that you think 

 is edible, but have some doubts about it, you might eat one today, 

 and, if you don't hear from it, disagreeably, eat two tomorrow." 

 He once yielded to this temptation, and "heard from it," by its 

 causing a quite troublesome eruption upon his face for a time. 

 Mushrooms are of value as a source of an excellent vinegar. In 

 one season, when at Wareham, Mr. Kinney made seven barrels of 

 mushroom vinegar to be used mostly in the preparation of mush- 

 room table-sauce, referred to in his remarks at the opening of this 

 discussion. The acid of this vinegar is not acetic acid as in cider 

 vinegar, but the vinegar is considered equally wholesome by many, 

 and some prefer it to cider vinegar, as it retains considerable of 

 the fine flavor of mushrooms, which makes them so popular when 

 served freshly cooked. This vinegar also holds its good qualities 

 the same as cider vinegar. 



Mr. Stein said he had been through an experience somewhat 



similar to that suggested by Mr. Kinney. He had received no 

 harm as yet, except in one instance ; then he suspected that his 

 indulgence in strange mushrooms had caused his discomfort. He 

 looked over his " P^ncyclopedia Britannica," and concluded he liad 

 all the symptoms of such poisoning ; but he had survived it all. 



